This years draft looks to be down from the previous couple years. It looks like the strength will be in HS bats. There's a nice group of upside with good depth. HS pitching has some decent depth but as of now looks a little light at the top. College bats are better than the last few drafts but still not very good and college pitching is way down which is unfortunate because that has been the strength of the last few drafts. Here's a list of some players that could hear their names called early on June 3rd.

Bobby Witt Jr SS Coreyville HS
Adley Rutschman C Oregon St
Riley Greene OF Hagerty HS (My Guy!)
Bryson Stott SS UNLV
CJ Abrams SS Blessed Trinity HS
Josh Jung 3B Texas Tech
Carter Stewart RHP Eastern FL JC
Andrew Vaughn 1B Cal
Logan Davidson SS Clemson
Graeme Stinson LHP Duke

The draft order isn't set but here are the top 10 protected picks:

1. Baltimore
2. Kansas City
3. White Sox
4. Miami
5. Detroit
6. San Diego
7. Cincinnati
8. Texas
9. Atlanta (compensation for unsigned 2018 first-rounder Carter Stewart)
10. San Francisco

AL Central reprezentin'! 3 outta the top 5 picks.

AL=inferior league.

Riley Greene BP in Jupiter

Brennan Malone. Long loose and super athletic. 94-97 with a 78-80 hammer curveball.

1. Baltimore: Adley Rutschman C Oregon St
2. Kansas City: Bobby Witt Jr SS Colleyville HS
3. Chicago WS: Andrew Vaughn 1B Cal
4. Miami: Riley Greene OF Hagerty HS
5. Detroit: Bryson Stott SS UNLV
6. San Diego: CJ Abrams SS Blessed Trinity HS
7. Cincinnati: Graeme Stinson LHP Duke
8. Texas: Carter Stewart RHP Eastern Florida JC
9. Atlanta: Corbin Carroll OF Lakeside HS
10. San Francisco: Logan Davidson SS Clemson

didn't the Orioles hire Witt family members to handle their evaluations?

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I haven't heard that. I did hear that if they select him they will let him be a 2-way guy. I just think his age (19 at draft time) will be a factor. I also think Rutschman is going to have a monster spring.

Video of Jr in Jupiter. That’s a pretty right handed swing looking to do damage. Notice the jersey.

https://youtu.be/zd98Xofk4qQ

No way in the world, the Sox are that lucky to land him. The O's would have to fall in love with the Catcher. And a Pitcher would have to go #2.

Well it's real easy to fall in love with the catcher. He's really good. It doesn't matter anyway. They're just going to pick a high floor low ceiling college bat anyway.

Who's the pitcher most likely to be a middle reliever or the hitter who projects as a fourth outfielder?

That's who the Sox will take.

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Team USA went 9-0 and steamrolled their way to the Gold Medal in the Pan-Am Games. Bobby Witt Jr was named tournament MVP. He hit .576 with 3 HR's and 18 RBI. Riley Greene hit .424 3 HR 20 RBI.

Jonathan Mayo at MLB Pipeline released a top 10 mock draft. Thanks for reading, Jonathan.

Orioles- Rutschman
Royals- Witt Jr
Sox- Vaughn
Marlins- Jung
Tigers- Stinson
Padres- Abrams
Reds- Langeliers
Rangers- Greene
Braves- Malone
Giants- Corbin

https://www.mlb.com/news/2019-early-mlb ... =151437456

Unless Vaughn is head and shoulders above Jung, I do not see the value in drafting a 1B over a 3B.

We’re not sure Jung is a 3B yet. He could be Jake Burger 2.0 though I think he a little more athletic than that. We have to see what his body looks like in the spring. If he tightened it up I’m in. Dude can hit.

Any chance, Carter Stewart is an option?

If he’s healthy, absolutely. He has one the best curveballs in baseball. Just not amateur baseball all of baseball. It’s a hammer.

the Red Sox first round pick (#33) was dropped 10 spots for exceeding the luxury tax (new penalty added this year). They now have pick #43 which is currently one spot ahead of the White Sox 2nd round pick.

Keyser, I dropped you a PM. Wanted to see if you know this local coach. Also, I may have a few other questions for you regarding the upcoming high school season. We just started off season training....

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Hawaii (fuck) You

RHP Carter Stewart has enrolled at East Florida State JC. He will not become a free agent but will be draft eligible in June. Atlanta will still have the 9th pick in this years draft.

If one of the top 2 catchers is not on the board, I am taking Stewart.

Langeliers? You’re passing on a lot of dudes for an undersized catcher who may never hit. I want them to take the guy with the highest ceiling. Just draft a fuckin dude.

I've been doing some research on R/R first baseman and all I have to say is....yeash.

In the last 10 yrs there has been one R/R first baseman drafted in the 1st round: CJ Cron ('11 1-17)

The current starting R/R first baseman drafted as first baseman: Paul Goldschmidt (8th round) Rhys Hoskins (5th round) Peter Alonso (2nd round)

Current R/R first baseman drafted at other position: Albert Pujols (OF) Ryan Zimmerman (3B) Ian Desmond (SS) Ryon Healy (3B)

International free agent R/R first baseman: Jose Abreu (1B) Miguel Cabrera (SS) Jesus Aguiar (OF) Yuli Gurriel (OF)

This certainly doesn't bode well for R/R first baseman Andrew Vaughn. He can hit but I don't think anyone can hit enough to provide enough value in the first round let alone a top half or top 5 pick.

* I guess I should mention Evan White (who the Sox should have drafted) who is a R/L first baseman which is obviously very strange. White was a 1st round pick in '17 (1-17). He could be an average centerfielder if he wasn't considered to literally have a very real chance to be the best defensive first baseman ever. He's a right handed hitter but he will also be able to provide tremendous value on defense.

On the futureSox podcast, JJ Cooper was talking about drafting a 1B at #3 or that high. Said there really isn't any precedence for good ones there.

Junior College started this weekend and San Jacinto (TX) RHP Jackson Rutledge (6'8" 260) came out of the gate hot. Rutledge an Arkansas kickback sat 95-98 t99 with a hard slider at 86-88. Rutledge has a short quick AA for such a big guy (which will help him repeat) and gets good down angle on his FB. If he consistently throws good strikes he can jump into the 1st round. He struck out 9 in 5 IP.

If I'm the Sox, I take Carter Stewart. Braves fucked up last year by low balling him.

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He had a wrist injury though I agree the Braves were very short sighted. I hope he proves he’s healthy this spring and goes out and throws the shit out of it.

Carter Stewart made his season debut yesterday and I am not a fan of the adjustments he made. He has a much higher front side (which I like) but now he's rotational and crossfire with a head whack and his arm is really late. It's only Jan 30 so he has time to iron these things out but if this is what he is I'm out. He was 90-95 t97. He went 4 innings with 7 K's.